Save with solar in
Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is part of the Boston Metropolitan Area and is one of the largest cities in Massachusetts, with a population of over 90,000. US presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were both born in Quincy, as well as influential Declaration of Independence signer John Hancock.

The Quincy Granite Railway Incline is one of the best-known landmarks in the city. It was part of the first commercial railroad system in the USA, dating back to the 19th century when the granite industry was the cornerstone of the city’s economy.

The adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy has been spearheaded by the Quincy Climate Action Network (Quincy CAN), an organization that promotes clean power technologies among home and business owners. The following are some of the organization’s accomplishments:

Convincing the city government to install 2 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity on 14 different municipal buildings.

Helping Quincy secure a grant from the Solarize Massachusetts program. This program helped homes and businesses install over 600 kilowatts (kW) of solar panels.

Cosponsoring the Kill-A-Watt program, which helps energy consumers reduce their power bills with user-friendly and intuitive power meters.

Quincy CAN has also organized many local conferences with energy experts, who educated the local government and community on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Benefits of Solar Panels in Quincy, MA

National Grid, the utility company serving Quincy, charges up to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and their rates are expected to increase by around 10 percent over the next year. These rates are among the highest in the nation, making solar panel installation an attractive, energy-saving home improvement project in Quincy.

The local Renewable Portfolio Standard requires utilities to obtain 25% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030, and a Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program has been created to incentive the adoption of solar power and other clean technologies. Here is how you can think about your savings with the SREC program:

Home and business owners earn one SREC each time they generate 1,000 kWh from their solar panels, and that SREC can be sold for around $270.

Generating 1,000 kWh with solar panels represents about $200 in power bill savings.

When the savings and SREC sales are added, every 1,000 kWh of solar electricity produces $470 in savings and income for the solar panel system owner.

As a complement to the SREC market, several tax incentives have been introduced to spur solar panel system installation in Quincy:

Tax exemptions: Solar panels are exempted from sales tax. Additionally, there is no property tax increase even though solar panels can increase property value. For example, a 5 kW solar panel system generally increases home value by more than $20,000.

Tax credits: You can deduct 15% of your investment up to $1,000 from your state taxes. Remember you can also claim a 30% federal tax credit, for a total tax benefit of up to 45%!

If you have a solid credit record, you can easily get a low-interest loan to purchase your solar panel system with $0 down. The advantage of financing a system through a loan is that you can start claiming SRECs and tax benefits even if you don’t pay for the system upfront. In other words, you can go solar without an upfront investment, and let your energy savings and SREC income cover your monthly loan payments!

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Estimated savings are based on a projected annual utility rate increase of 3.5% over the life of the
system. Actual pricing and savings will vary and is not guaranteed. Savings depends on several
factors, including product type, system production, system size, geography, weather, shade,
electricity usage, full utilization of all available tax credits and rebates by the system owner,
and utility rate structures and rate increases.